In a continuing effort to improve the quality of shipping fruits, I, the inventor, typically hybridize a large number of peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, and cherry seedlings each year. The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of peach tree, which has been denominated varietally as ‘WESTERN PRINCESS’. The present variety was hybridized by me in 1992, grown as a seedling on its own root in my greenhouse, and transplanted to a cultivated area of my experimental orchard located near Le Grand, Calif., in Merced County (San Joaquin Valley).
The variety was developed as a first generation cross using ‘Diamond Princess’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,066) peach as the selected seed parent and an unnamed white flesh peach (unpatented) as the selected pollen parent. A single tree from the stated cross was selected as the claimed variety. Subsequent to origination of the present variety of peach tree, I asexually reproduced it by budding and grafting in the experimental orchard described above, and such reproduction of plant and fruit characteristics were true to the original plant in all respects. The reproduction of the variety included the use of ‘Nemaguard’ (unpatented) rootstock upon which the present variety was compatible and true to type.
The present variety is most similar to its selected seed parent, ‘Diamond Princess’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,066) peach, by producing peaches that are nearly globose in shape, freestone in type, yellow in flesh color, acidic and sweet in flavor, and mostly red in skin color, but is distinguished therefrom by requiring much less chilling hours and by producing fruit that is larger in size and that matures about ten days earlier.